Product Media

Product Description

No matter how busy she is, dress designer Audrey Regan can't say no to her friend Carly when she asks her to be maid of honor---and create the perfect wedding dress. Carly's nuptials promise to be the event of the year. Then the groom's best man---tattooed biker J.R. Hunt---walks in and turns Audrey's world upside down!

Publisher's Description

How many dresses can a designer design before she finally designs her own?

Author Bio

Sandra D. Bricker was an entertainment publicist in Los Angeles for more than 15 years, where she attended school to learn screenwriting and eventually taught the craft for several semesters. She is now a best-selling, award-winning author of Live-Out-Loud Fiction for the inspirational market, best known for her Emma Rae Creation series. As an ovarian cancer survivor, she gears time and effort toward raising awareness and funds for research, diagnostics, and a cure. Sandra resides in Toledo, Ohio, and online at SandraDBricker.com.

ChristianBookPreviews.com

The third book in the Emma Rae Creation series, Always the Designer Never the Bride, provides a well written, refreshing romance that manages to skip some of the over used cliches found in Christian romance. It also includes cute advice for brides and recipes for sweets between each chapter. While it remains a romance in its truest form, Sandra D. Bricker's book is fresh in that it isn't overly Christian and in that its character chemistry is realistic and doesn't unravel too quickly. While the concept may remind readers of movies like The Wedding Planner, the plot of Always the Designer Never the Bride finds its own unique road to take readers down.

Audrey Regan's wedding dress design career seems to be going down the drain. She doesn't like the city she lives in, and the only clients she can seem to hold onto are her friends. But when she goes home to Atlanta to help with her best friend Carly's wedding dress and the stress begins to build, a new line of opportunities come her way, including the opportunity to fall in love with a fun loving man with a tattoo and a motorcycle. What starts off as a much needed, random night on the town turns into a developing, complicated romance between the two. But Audrey isn't sure if she's ready for a relationship, and J.R. lives most of his life on the road. How can their two lifestyles become compatible enough for a lasting relationship? Especially when everyone around them seems to be coupling up?

Readers of the modern economy will relate to Audrey's struggle to pay bills and stay in business, and Christians will find comfort in the Lords providence for this lovable character. This story lacks true moral conviction, however. It focuses on making character believable, rather than making them strong Christians who recall Scripture every time trouble comes along. While Audrey's friends are made out as genuine Christians a few times throughout the book (using instances of prayer and such), Bricker does not make it clear whether or not Audrey is a Christian. Audrey refers to the Bible in her hotel room at one point, reading Isaiah 44:11, which says, "O, you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires." Audrey says a quick prayer based on the verse and its encouragement, but is later embarrassed to mention it to her friends, and when things start to look up for her, she doesnt credit her happiness to God.

The lack of preaching does not inhibit the story, though. Bricker gives the reader a great, relatable, well paced story that any fiction reader is bound to enjoy. Harmony Wheeler, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

I have enjoyed all of Sandra Brickers books, and this one is no exception. She deals with serious topics with humor. As the characters find out about themselves the reader is finding out about themselves too. Somewhere in these series of books you will find yourself and be able to laugh while seriously looking at the wat the situations are dealt with.

Always the Designer, Never the Bride was the perfect light-hearted read I was looking for. Bricker is an amazingly talented writerâ€”blending romance, quirks, depth, and humor for a story that was highly entertaining. I loved "visiting" the Tanglewood Inn again and reading more about the fun characters that I met in Always the Wedding Planner. As much as I enjoyed that book, I thought Always the Designer was even better. I'm not sure if it was because we got to follow up with repeat characters or if I just connected with Audrey more. The friendships between Audrey and the other characters reminded me of what a great blessing friends are! I also loved the romance between Audrey and JR, which was a bit of a whirlwind yet somehow believable. I also liked that there were several interesting story lines taking place simultaneouslyâ€”Carly's wedding, the romance with JR, the friendships, and Audrey's career drama. It seemed that there was always something going on, moving the book along fairly quickly. If you're looking for laughs, romance, or just a fun read, this is it! I can't wait for the final book in the series! [4.5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book from Abingdon Press via Net Galley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Audrey has been designing dressed since she was a little girl. She started out making Barbie's dream dresses and now she hopes to break out in the fashion world and make dream dresses for real brides. The problem is she is not having the best go of it. If she can not get the dress for this one last client she will be out of money and her dream may be over. On top of this her best friend is getting married and she created her dress and is also her bride's maid. Can she enjoy her friends special day and land the dress to save her dream?

J.R rides into town on his Harley for his brothers wedding. He has no plans to stick around after the wedding but one look at Audrey and he finds himself drawn to her. Can this unlikely pair find love?

This was a fun book and I enjoyed reading it. I was little worried since it's the 3rd book in a series but it can easily be read as a stand alone.

What I liked: This book had quite a lot of humor which I really liked. I also enjoyed the characters. Not only did I like both the main characters but the supporting ones as well. I also thought the plot was unique.

What I did not like: The only thing that bothered me a little was the idea of the two main characters falling in love in just a few days. I know its just a book but it always makes the book just a little less likeable for me.

Over all this was a fun book with some good laughs and an over all enjoyable storyline. I would very much like to go back and read the first two books and learn more about those characters as well.

This book is the third in the series, but does not have the punch the other two do. It seems that with character there is not the substance as with the other two. It does shows us another side of the working world and is very informative. Thus worth your time to read it,